Built in wardriving rig need help with distro

staffkeeper · 02-24-2005

Hi all,

O.K. this might sound a bit crazy but bear with me I came accross a 5" television screen from a local bootsale my plan then was to wire up a dvd set the tv scrren behind the seats to keep the kids quiet whilst out wardriving etc. On further examination the screen it had a VGA port underneath so i plugged my PC into it hay presto a 5" monitor which I have been using on my PC to display temp fanspeed etc.

After a few beers it dawned on me that I could use this monitor in the car, fix it in the dash hook it up to my laptop and use it to see how the stumbling is going.

But its a pain to get in the car connect everything up so i thought about hard wireing a laptop into the car so i bought a very old laptop removed the screen and wired it to the car with a dropper and fitted it into the glovebox so all I gotta do now is jump in switch on and i`m away.

Now I need a way of getting Linux onto the laptop its a Dell Latitude XPi p100sd running a Pentium 1 at 100mhtz 800mb HDD and 16mb ram with only a floppy drive on it running Windows 98 does anyone know a way I can get Linux onto it i`ve looked into Damn Small Linux and that needs 32megs of ram I don`t really want to throw any more money at it yet ie betterlaptop more memory etc...any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

rjdenver · 02-24-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by staffkeeper

Hi all,

O.K. this might sound a bit crazy but bear with me I came accross a 5" television screen from a local bootsale my plan then was to wire up a dvd set the tv scrren behind the seats to keep the kids quiet whilst out wardriving etc. On further examination the screen it had a VGA port underneath so i plugged my PC into it hay presto a 5" monitor which I have been using on my PC to display temp fanspeed etc.

After a few beers it dawned on me that I could use this monitor in the car, fix it in the dash hook it up to my laptop and use it to see how the stumbling is going.

But its a pain to get in the car connect everything up so i thought about hard wireing a laptop into the car so i bought a very old laptop removed the screen and wired it to the car with a dropper and fitted it into the glovebox so all I gotta do now is jump in switch on and i`m away.

Now I need a way of getting Linux onto the laptop its a Dell Latitude XPi p100sd running a Pentium 1 at 100mhtz 800mb HDD and 16mb ram with only a floppy drive on it running Windows 98 does anyone know a way I can get Linux onto it i`ve looked into Damn Small Linux and that needs 32megs of ram I don`t really want to throw any more money at it yet ie betterlaptop more memory etc...any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

I wonder if Knoppix would work - any access to a CD from your laptop? Or, maybe using your wireless card you could do a network boot from a linux distribution in your home before driving off?

Rj

G8tK33per · 02-24-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by staffkeeper

Hi all,

O.K. this might sound a bit crazy but bear with me I came accross a 5" television screen from a local bootsale my plan then was to wire up a dvd set the tv scrren behind the seats to keep the kids quiet whilst out wardriving etc. On further examination the screen it had a VGA port underneath so i plugged my PC into it hay presto a 5" monitor which I have been using on my PC to display temp fanspeed etc.

After a few beers it dawned on me that I could use this monitor in the car, fix it in the dash hook it up to my laptop and use it to see how the stumbling is going.

But its a pain to get in the car connect everything up so i thought about hard wireing a laptop into the car so i bought a very old laptop removed the screen and wired it to the car with a dropper and fitted it into the glovebox so all I gotta do now is jump in switch on and i`m away.

Now I need a way of getting Linux onto the laptop its a Dell Latitude XPi p100sd running a Pentium 1 at 100mhtz 800mb HDD and 16mb ram with only a floppy drive on it running Windows 98 does anyone know a way I can get Linux onto it i`ve looked into Damn Small Linux and that needs 32megs of ram I don`t really want to throw any more money at it yet ie betterlaptop more memory etc...any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Holy fucking run-on sentence, Batman! Are you still drinking by chance?

staffkeeper · 02-24-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjdenver

I wonder if Knoppix would work - any access to a CD from your laptop? Or, maybe using your wireless card you could do a network boot from a linux distribution in your home before driving off?

Rj

No way to use a CD and I can`t get the wireless card running with 98.

rjdenver · 02-24-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by staffkeeper

No way to use a CD and I can`t get the wireless card running with 98.

I think my idea about doing a network boot over a wireless card, while damn clever, actually won't work. From what I can tell, you need WFM or somesuch built into a nic card for that to work, and doesnt look like wireless cards incorporate that functionality.

Rj

Thorn · 02-24-2005

* Buy a cheap PCMCIA Ethernet card, and do a net install. Then change to the wireless card.
* Do a parallel port install. (It's called PPIPP or something similar.) S L O W but it will work.

seinman · 02-24-2005

Make sure you have a 16 bit wireless card, too. I had an old laptop and had that problem, the first two cards I bought were 32 bit and they wouldn't work.

sysadmn · 02-24-2005

I use LinuxLinks and Distrowatch to compare various distros.
LinuxLinks has a good taxonomy, Distrowatch tells you what apps and versions are bundled in.

You might want to start with a floppy-based distribution. I haven't seen them lately, but LOAF, FreeSCO, and Trinux all used to run on 16 MB machines. I still keep a Tom's Root & Boot floppy around, but it's mostly recovery oriented. You can also look at mini-distros .

staffkeeper · 02-24-2005

Thanks for the info about the card i`ve decided to put the laptop back together and get a newer model don`t really wanna spend on such an old laptop.

One more quick question is it possible with linux when I boot a PC it will automatically run Kismet with no other user input apart from pressing the on button?

streaker69 · 02-24-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by sysadmn

I use LinuxLinks and Distrowatch to compare various distros.
LinuxLinks has a good taxonomy, Distrowatch tells you what apps and versions are bundled in.

You might want to start with a floppy-based distribution. I haven't seen them lately, but LOAF, FreeSCO, and Trinux all used to run on 16 MB machines. I still keep a Tom's Root & Boot floppy around, but it's mostly recovery oriented. You can also look at mini-distros .

Not that I know much about the *nix but I seem to remember QNX ran from a floppy. I have a QNX system running on my Audrey, built in webbrowser and all kinds of tools in it.

sysadmn · 02-24-2005

Yeah, QNX was pretty amazing - os, browser, and networking on a single floppy. There are Linux distros that do that as well.

Staffkeeper - it's not hard to have a program start at boot time under Linux. It's a little harder if you want to autologin a user and present a graphical user interface.

staffkeeper · 02-24-2005

Thanks for the links to floppy based distros but think i`ll go for a newer laptop e.bay got some good uns with damaged screens that will do for a base unit.

All I want to run at boot is Kismet so I can jump in the car press start and have kismet running by the time I get off the drive.

nashr · 02-24-2005

What about dumping the distro to a USB thumbdrive?

beakmyn · 02-24-2005

I'm assuming that being a 100mhz USB didn't exist when it was built.

You could try a floppy based netinstall. Or sell it on ebay. You should get about $75.00 or more for it.

You're better off buying something like a 233 with say 64+ meg of RAM. That way if you need to go into X you can with Blackbox.

A 233 might also be new enough to have USB which is handy.

If you're really itching to get it running I've got an old Parallel port > IDE external enclosure in my basement I'll sell real cheap. You could put a CD-ROM in that and work out creating a boot floppy with a driver for it.

staffkeeper · 02-25-2005

Thanks beakmyn i`ve sold the Dell and am now searching for a newer machine on ebay I don`t need a screen so I should get something half decent then I might get to finnish my project

02-24-2005	#1 (permalink)
staffkeeper Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 46	Built in wardriving rig need help with distro Hi all, O.K. this might sound a bit crazy but bear with me I came accross a 5" television screen from a local bootsale my plan then was to wire up a dvd set the tv scrren behind the seats to keep the kids quiet whilst out wardriving etc. On further examination the screen it had a VGA port underneath so i plugged my PC into it hay presto a 5" monitor which I have been using on my PC to display temp fanspeed etc. After a few beers it dawned on me that I could use this monitor in the car, fix it in the dash hook it up to my laptop and use it to see how the stumbling is going. But its a pain to get in the car connect everything up so i thought about hard wireing a laptop into the car so i bought a very old laptop removed the screen and wired it to the car with a dropper and fitted it into the glovebox so all I gotta do now is jump in switch on and i`m away. Now I need a way of getting Linux onto the laptop its a Dell Latitude XPi p100sd running a Pentium 1 at 100mhtz 800mb HDD and 16mb ram with only a floppy drive on it running Windows 98 does anyone know a way I can get Linux onto it i`ve looked into Damn Small Linux and that needs 32megs of ram I don`t really want to throw any more money at it yet ie betterlaptop more memory etc...any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

02-24-2005	#6 (permalink)
Thorn Did you do the math? Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Villa Straylight Posts: 10,098	* Buy a cheap PCMCIA Ethernet card, and do a net install. Then change to the wireless card. * Do a parallel port install. (It's called PPIPP or something similar.) S L O W but it will work. __________________ Thorn "I'm The Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I am from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old and I am the man who is going to save your lives and all 6 billion people on the planet below... You got a problem with that?"

02-24-2005	#7 (permalink)
seinman Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 73	Make sure you have a 16 bit wireless card, too. I had an old laptop and had that problem, the first two cards I bought were 32 bit and they wouldn't work. __________________ http://www.seinman.net

02-24-2005	#8 (permalink)
sysadmn Wireless Novice Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: in front of the computer, duh! Posts: 124	I use LinuxLinks and Distrowatch to compare various distros. LinuxLinks has a good taxonomy, Distrowatch tells you what apps and versions are bundled in. You might want to start with a floppy-based distribution. I haven't seen them lately, but LOAF, FreeSCO, and Trinux all used to run on 16 MB machines. I still keep a Tom's Root & Boot floppy around, but it's mostly recovery oriented. You can also look at mini-distros . __________________ Wigle Stats: Total New Discovered Networks with GPS: 996 All Networks Recorded: 1,517 Networks This Month with GPS: 850 First Post: 26-Dec-2004

02-24-2005	#11 (permalink)
sysadmn Wireless Novice Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: in front of the computer, duh! Posts: 124	Yeah, QNX was pretty amazing - os, browser, and networking on a single floppy. There are Linux distros that do that as well. Staffkeeper - it's not hard to have a program start at boot time under Linux. It's a little harder if you want to autologin a user and present a graphical user interface. __________________ Wigle Stats: Total New Discovered Networks with GPS: 996 All Networks Recorded: 1,517 Networks This Month with GPS: 850 First Post: 26-Dec-2004

02-24-2005	#9 (permalink)
staffkeeper Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 46	Thanks for the info about the card i`ve decided to put the laptop back together and get a newer model don`t really wanna spend on such an old laptop. One more quick question is it possible with linux when I boot a PC it will automatically run Kismet with no other user input apart from pressing the on button?

02-24-2005	#12 (permalink)
staffkeeper Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 46	Thanks for the links to floppy based distros but think i`ll go for a newer laptop e.bay got some good uns with damaged screens that will do for a base unit. All I want to run at boot is Kismet so I can jump in the car press start and have kismet running by the time I get off the drive.

02-24-2005	#13 (permalink)
nashr Uber Geek Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Virginia Posts: 1,615	What about dumping the distro to a USB thumbdrive? __________________ Help! I've been Simpsonized!

02-24-2005	#14 (permalink)
beakmyn root\.workspace\.garbage. Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 4,805	I'm assuming that being a 100mhz USB didn't exist when it was built. You could try a floppy based netinstall. Or sell it on ebay. You should get about $75.00 or more for it. You're better off buying something like a 233 with say 64+ meg of RAM. That way if you need to go into X you can with Blackbox. A 233 might also be new enough to have USB which is handy. If you're really itching to get it running I've got an old Parallel port > IDE external enclosure in my basement I'll sell real cheap. You could put a CD-ROM in that and work out creating a boot floppy with a driver for it. __________________ Daughter with arms inside shirt: "Daddy I'm not Armish" ┌──────────────────────────────┐ ╞ NS Icons Explained\|et hoc genus omne ╡ └──────────────────────────────┘

02-25-2005	#15 (permalink)
staffkeeper Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 46	Thanks beakmyn i`ve sold the Dell and am now searching for a newer machine on ebay I don`t need a screen so I should get something half decent then I might get to finnish my project

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